Trials of Hell
by Fantasy Loremaster
Summary: Two years after Mission City, increasing numbers of Autobots and Decepticons alike are adapting to their new home and only a handful of humans hold the fate of both races in their hands. The key to the Allspark's regeneration has been found.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own anything Transformer related nor am I making any profit from this story. Any original characters and/or settings belong to me and permission is needed from me before using any OC's/plot that I am currently writing as I have worked hard on the creation of this tale. Any similarities to other works of fan fiction are purely unintentional.**

**Pairings****: MB/R (Mikaela/ Ratchet), SW/BB (Sam/Bumblebee), MM/SS (Maggie/Sunstreaker), OC/Barricade and possibly others.**

**Warning:**** Disturbing content in this story. You have been warned.**

**Trials of Hell**

**Chapter One**

**BBBRRRRIIINNNGGG BBBRRRIIINNNGGG**

"Huh? Wassit?" A muffled voice sounded from underneath a pile of bedcovers.

**BBBRRRIIINNNGGG BBBRRRIIINNNGGG**

Clumsily, an arm stretched out and groped for the source of the racket.

**BBBRRRIIINNNGGG BBBRRR………**

"'Ello?"

"Sammy? Is that you?" A clear voice rang out from the phone causing the young man to wince at the volume.

"Who is this?" The young man yawned widely as he managed to wrestle himself to a sitting position blinking his eyes blearily. He glanced over at his alarm clock and noticed the glaring red numbers that marked the time as 7:15PM.

Wow. His nap lasted longer than he expected. He had a nagging feeling that he was late for something but couldn't quite figure out what it was in his befuddled state.

"Oh, you know, just the person you were supposed to pick up from the airport an _hour_ ago!"

"Frag it!!" The eighteen year old teen spat as he attempted to leap out of bed only to have his covers tangle around his legs causing him to fall to the floor heavily.

"What? I didn't catch that Sam. It sounded like you just stubbed your toe or something. Are you okay?"

Now that he was fully awake he recognized the lilting accent in his cousin's voice.

_Ahhh…Fuck! Mom was going to KILL him!_

"Oh god! I am _so_ sorry Ace!! I fell asleep and my nap lasted a bit longer than I had planned." He babbled as he untangled himself from his sheets and frantically rushed around making sure he was dressed and presentable.

A soft laugh cut him off. "Relax kid. I'll be here waiting. Just try to show up soon will you?"

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" He protested petulantly grabbing his wallet and keys.

"O' course ya are! I am older after all."

_Yeah, by six weeks, _he mentally protested.

"Ace, stop talking. I am on my way now."

A deep sigh sounded through the earpiece. "Fine little cousin. I will see you soon."

A click was heard as his cousin Aislinn Chase hung up the phone. Wasting no time, he raced out of the house before stopping dead in his tracks.

His car was not in the driveway.

"Frag it!!" He shouted in frustration, unknowingly using the Cybertronian curse. He was _so_ going to kill Bumblebee when he saw him next. Yanking a silver phone from his pocket, he took a deep breath before hitting his speed dial. He listened as the phone rang on the other end before a gruff voice answered.

"What?!"

"Errr...uh.. Hi Ironhide. I was trying to locate Bee and must've hit the wrong button. I don't suppose he's there?"

An aggravated huff sounded out. "No. He's not."

"Oh...umm…that's okay then. I'll hang up and try him."

"You won't get him human. He's out doing recon for Optimus."

The string of curses that exploded from the brunette teen's mouth made even the battle hardened Ironhide flinch.

"Is there a problem?" the large mech asked point blank.

"Yes...No...YES!! I have to get to the airport to pick up my cousin and _my car_ is gone!"

"Cannot Mikaela take you?"

"No. She's out with Ratchet doing sweeps. And I don't want to interrupt them for something like this. Would you?"

Even though the young man couldn't see it, he could sense Ironhide shudder through the phone. It was not wise for one to get on the medic's bad side, and interrupting him during his patrol time, unless it was an _extreme_ emergency, constituted just that.

"Bumblebee will be back in what is equivalent to two of your Earth hours. You can wait until then." The Weapon's Specialist said firmly.

Once again his auditory senses were treated to the Sam Witwicky's tirade of negative words. The large mech sighed, dreading what his processor had deemed a logical solution. Sam calmed down a bit.

"Look Ironhide. I know how much you _hate_ being used as a taxi service, but I _really_ have to get to the airport and pick up my cousin Aislinn. I am already an hour late and Mon and Dad had planned to go to this premier for months and I _promised_ them that I would pick her up. She flew in _all_ the way from Ireland and I just _can't_ leave her at the airport for another couple of hours!!"

Ah, Frag it! The desperation in the young Witwicky's voice has touched the tough mech's spark. He blamed it on Will. Being around the Lennox family so much had softened the battle hardened warrior. Heaving a sigh, the large black Cybertronian sighed.

"Fine. I am on my way to your house now. Ironhide out."

Sam stared in disbelief at the now silenced phone. Did _Ironhide_ just _agree_ to be his chauffer?! Unbelievable. He pinched his arm sharply.

Huh. Imagine that.

So deep in his surprise, young Samuel Witwicky never noticed the flare of headlights and an engine roar as a lone vehicle sped down the street.

An unoccupied vehicle.

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Mikaela Banes sighed as she leaned against the passenger window of the yellow Search and Rescue Hummer 2. She eyed the driver seat speculatively. Seeing the profile of an older man, somewhere in his very early thirties, she marveled at how detailed the Hologram was. She could see the laugh lines around his eyes and the fine hairs upon his exposed arm. Her eyes drifted upwards in a wholly appreciative manner, skimming over his masculine lips, his narrow nose, his soft blue eyes, to his light brown hair.

She sighed again. It had been almost two years since the Mission City battle with Megatron and the Decepticon forces, and she still sometimes had to remember her life wasn't straight out of a Science Fiction story.

Or an old 80's cartoon.

She smiled wryly at the _Sam voice_ that popped into her head. _80's cartoon indeed._

She missed her best friend, and it had only been a day since she saw him. The beautiful brunette knew that Sam Witwicky already had a best friend, one which she had no chance in hell of competing with, but if she was honest with herself, she would admit that _she_ also already had another best friend. She looked over at the human image of the Autobot driving.

Okay, so he was a _mechanical_ best friend, but he was still a confidante none the less. Much like Bumblebee was to Sam. Maybe she should stick with Sam and her being the best of _human_ friends. After all, both she and Sam managed to save the world and that naturally would result in a bond. Like a typical cliché they had dated for a while, both high on the victory from Mission City, but that had eventually fizzled and died. Over a year now in fact.

Mikaela wasn't a stupid person. In fact, she was rather astute. She could see the writing on the wall when it came to Sam and Bumblebee. And she was certain she wasn't the only one. But she had gotten used to the stigma attached to her. Most of society apparently didn't believe that beauty could go hand-in-hand with brains. She could understand the bias heaped on her given that she was deemed a "Hottie". Make no mistake; it was not with pride that she easily agreed to this assessment. Or rather, as the twins so handily pointed out, with fact.

_Ahhhh…..the twins. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker._

The two robotical brothers who seemed to _live_ for giving Ratchet, her best friend, havoc.

_Poor Ratchet._

She softly snorted at the thought of the rather large, _and handsome _her inner voice taunted cruelly, mech becoming so irate that he gladly volunteered for this nightly civic duty.

"Is everything satisfactory with you Mikaela Banes?"

"Everything is fine. And how many time do I need to tell you it is only _Mikaela_?!"

"I apologize young one. I did not mean to offend you."

Amazingly, the beautiful brunette managed to hide her anger at being called a _young one_. She may be young by Cybertronian standards, but she was fully legal where it counted.

_What the fraggin' hell was this? Where it counted? What was __**that**__ supposed to mean?_

"It's okay Ratchet. You did not purposefully offend me. I'm tougher than I look, you know." She finished slyly.

A bark of laughter escaped him surrounding the interior of the vehicle, filling her with warmth. "Forgive me Mikaela. I do sometimes forget that the femmes of your species seem to truly dominate most of the males of your kind."

Well now that sucked. She didn't want to be seen as an overbearing, no nonsense type of woman. She wanted to be seen as a _woman_.

A desirable one at that.

That acknowledgement alone had her mentally scrabbling. _Desirable? To a robot?_ She successfully reigned in that particular thought.

No sense drudging up pain from what could never be.

She had learned to live with pain though. Over the course of her life she had been forced into situations where her loyalty and obligatory love was pitted against what was right and just. For a long time before the incident with the Autobots and Sam she had weighed her options in life. She was sick of doing and pretending to be something she was not, something expected of her. So when she graduated from High School she jumped at the chance to apprentice at a garage almost a year ago.

There she had managed to find her true calling.

She tensed suddenly as she sighted a car wreck ahead. Already knowing that Ratchet would have seen it, she readied herself, pulling her Tranquility Rescue ball cap lower to hide more of her features. She watched listlessly as the swirl of the Autobot's lights flashed.

Another night claims another victim.

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Maggie Madsen twitched in aggravation as her longtime friend Glen Whitman bit his knuckles in glee. How had she been maneuvered into the nearest arcade by her friend, she did not know. But she vowed it would not happen again. She was considering homicide. Literally.

She glanced at her watch and let out a huff. "Come on Glen! We've been here for fifteen minutes already! We have an agenda we need to stick to!" The beautiful Australian said with impatience.

"C'mon Mags! You can't deny me my jam! Lookit! I have the second highest score and I am so close to putting _Scottie29_ down!"

She watched with a grimace as her rather _healthy_ friend twirled with surprising grace to the new dance video game put out for Nintendo Wii. She looked at her watch again hoping that it in fact had broken and therefore would show her that they were not stuck in the LAX terminal and needed to find a hotel for the next couple of days until the hurricane wreaking havoc on the east coast passed out to sea.

Although she loved being here, she was eager to return home to Washington, D.C. There was a claw foot tub waiting for her back in her condo with her name on it. Sighing she closed her eyes briefly and rubbed her temples in an attempt to ward off her oncoming headache. She was tense and exhausted after hours of political talks between Secretary of Defense John Kelly and Optimus Prime. The bi-weekly trips were becoming exhausting and not for the first time she wondered why she didn't just move out here. Glen and she were part of a very select few who knew of the existence of the Cybertronians and as such were also part of a diplomatic council to mediate between one of the world's most powerful countries and a race of mechs who now found themselves calling Earth home. Unfortunately, she didn't get to spend much time lately with the Autobots as her contact was primarily contained to Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet and on occasion Bumblebee.

She smiled fondly as she stepped away from the arcade and into the streaming mass of people towards the _Starbucks_. As much as she had been frightened during the Hoover Dam catastrophe, in no time she had found herself accepting the facts and growing close to the aforementioned mechs. As a computer analyst she was simply fascinated with the complexities of their genetic makeup, and as a young woman she found herself in awe of the large, and in their own strange way, handsome mechs. While true that her contact was limited to only a few of the Autobots, she had been able to glimpse others, newcomers over the past couple of years. Granted, she probably hadn't met them all, but the ones she had were absolutely amazing! It boggled her mind at the differences and yet how similar the two races actually were.

Standing in the queue that waited for their much desired dose of caffeine, Maggie absently heard the conversation of the woman in front of her and the tell tale frustration that radiated from her petite frame. Apparently her absentminded cousin had forgotten to pick her up from the airport. The hazel-eyed Australian only wished her own dilemma was so simple. The playoffs between the Lakers and the Celtics were going on and as such there was a sudden scarcity of available hotel rooms and she absolutely refused to stay in one of those rent by the hour dives.

The petite raven haired woman stepped up to place her order and the beautiful blond detected the hint of an Irish lilt in her voice. Raised voices from behind her distracted her and she found herself looking over her shoulder at two aggravated men standing toe to toe right behind her.

"Excuse me..." She started to say before she was jostled by an ill timed shove from the taller of the two men who had lost his temper with the slightly smaller man.

"Hey! Watch it!" She said indignantly and immediately stepped back at the look of fury that was cast her way from the seemingly more violent one.

"Watch your own self bitch!" He said before shoving the other man more violently.

Of course that succeeded in the receiver of the hard shove to smack into Maggie who in turn flailed her arms in a futile gesture to keep herself steady. She felt herself fall heavily into the woman in front of her who had just turned around and in the encompassing seconds the now angry Australian found a very hot coffee splashed all over her which her three inch heels decided to slip in resulting in her landing hard on her backside. Her momentum carried the other woman with her and soon both were flushing scarlet in embarrassment and anger as the gathered crowd gawked at their tangled limbs.

Mortified the blond tried to wriggle her way out from the other woman fully aware at the expanse of her legs that showed from where her skirt had ridden up to her backside. A wolf whistle pierced the air and she felt herself flushing even more as she realized her emerald green thong was showing. Finally managing to get to her feet as swiftly and as gracefully as she could, she helped the other woman up before turning eyes of fire to the man responsible for her dishabille and pain from the burning coffee.

The bastard was laughing his ass off.

Temper snapping, the feisty Australian's hand curled into a fist that she let fly. Gasps sounded from the crowd as she stood in satisfaction as the jerk responsible for this whole debacle now stood clutching his left eye.

"My move now bitch!" And before anyone could stop him his hands were around her throat in a vice like grip. Attempting to free herself the analyst tried to knee her attacker in the groin only to be blocked and the pressure increased.

"Not smart cunt. Maybe I should return the favor."

Lightheaded and struggling to breathe she faintly heard her name being shouted. She had no time to figure out her assailant's meaning before he let go with one hand and delivered a hard punch to her cheek. Feeling her skin spilt as his ring cut open her smooth skin she desperately stomped her heel on his foot grinding it.

"Get off her punk!"

She almost cried as she heard Glen's voice. Her vision was going spotty but she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye as a loud _Thunk_ was heard.

"Dinna mess with an angry woman! Ya ken?!"

Coughing for breath as she was suddenly released and saw her savior in the form of an angry petite Irish woman holding a jug of what looked like mocha coffee. Sinking to her knees the battered blond, concentrated on regaining her normal breathing pattern as Glen stood over her protectively shouting at the watching crowd.

"You see something interesting? What, a woman getting choked and beat on doesn't do it for you? I saw that none of you inbred assholes helped!"

Sadly, he had a point. Too many Americans were too embroiled in there own existence to truly care what happened to others and not enough to help someone in need. A cool hand placed an ice pack on her throbbing cheek and split lip.

"I got ye. Dinna worry. My name is Aislinn and I presume from your angry friend over there that yours is Maggie. Right?"

"Yes." She managed to croak out painfully. God Damn, her throat hurt! Pride rearing its ugly head the hazel-eyed woman struggled to stand. Once upright she shot a lethal look over to her downed assailant. Something in her snapped.

"I wish I had a gun…" Before she could finish saying that she would blow his knee caps off she felt her arms being seized behind her wrists cuffed and slammed face down into the floor.

"Wha..." She began bewildered before pressure on the back of her head increased muffling any protest she had.

"TSA. You are all being detained for violent acts that can be construed as terrorism and for having an illegal weapon."

Terroism? Weapon? What?

"I don't have a weapon!" She managed to spit out hoarsely.

"No, but your friend does."

Wide eyed, she craned her neck to look at a bewildered Glen who had been holding his faux switchblade comb out toward the asshole who attacked her in the attempt to look threatening right before he was tackled to the ground. An irate accented voice from her right caused her to try to move her head to see who was busy cursing. A cold barrel of a gun halted her movements.

"Do not move Australian or I will shoot you!"

As her attacker, his original victim, Glen, the Irish woman and herself were hauled to their feet and led away; her one coherent thought in all of this mess was that the Secretary of Defense was just going to _kill_ her.

So much for keeping a low profile.

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**A/N: **So the first chapter is up. I plan for this to be multi chaptered approaching epic length. There will be romance between humans and mechs so if that isn't your cup of tea than don't read. Please don't flame me for portraying the TSA as more ruthless than they are. It was for the sake of the story plot and the beginning friendship between characters. This story is an AU from both cartoon and the movie, but I am basing it on the 2007 movie with characters from both universes. Drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading everyone!

F.L.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own anything Transformer related nor am I making any profit from this story. Any original characters and/or settings belong to me and permission is needed from me before using any OC's/plot that I am currently writing as I have worked hard on the creation of this tale. Any similarities to other works of fan fiction are **_**purely**_** unintentional.**

**Pairings****: Mikaela/ Ratchet, Sam/Bumblebee, Sunstreaker/Maggie/possibly ?, OC/Barricade and Starscream/Alexis.**

**Warning:**** Disturbing content in this story. You have been warned.**

**Trials of Hell**

**Chapter Two**

"I _told_ ye already mon! That idiot was the one causing the ruckus! I dinna know why ye insist on holding any o' us here besides that mon!"

The agent in charge of her questioning just stared at the irate Irish woman passively. Growling in exasperation, Aislinn Chase cradled her head in her hands. She had been here for almost an hour already while this asshole pulled her travel records and obtained the pitifully small list of family and friends she had here in the States.

By god, she was going to _kill_ Samuel Witwicky when he got here! If not for his tardiness to begin with none of this mess would have happened and she wouldn't be sitting here with this Men-In-Black impersonator. She had every intention of paying him back and then some for the humiliation she was currently enduring.

The door opened and another suited man approached the pasty faced idiot who was currently just staring at her. A few whispered words were exchanged between the two men and both hurried out of the room. One eyebrow was raised in curiosity as she kicked up her jean clad legs on the metal table and eyed the folder that had seemingly been forgotten on the table. Snorting quietly, she rolled her eyes. They would have to do better than that if they wanted to catch her in some sort of illegal act. Though why taking a look at her own file would be considered illegal she had no idea but she knew better than to even try.

She wondered how the feisty Australian had made out. Probably the same as herself, if not worse. She had caught a glimpse of the extensive bruising that had already marred the beautiful blonde's neck while they were being led away. Hopefully they gave her some ice for her split lip and puffy cheek. Though given the lack of courtesy she personally had been shown so far, she highly doubted the blond woman would warrant it.

The door opened again and she saw the same blank faced agent enter. Behind him stood a tall man with a scar on his face splitting his left eyebrow. Behind him she caught sight of the sheepish figure of her cousin. She leapt to her feet and dove towards him with the intent to harm not caring of the consequences.

"I'm gonna kill ye Sammy! This is all yo' fault!"

She shouted as the brawny companion of the youngest Witwicky held her back firmly.

"Now Ace…I know you are mad right now and you have every right to be, but can we _please_ discuss this somewhere else?"

Fists clenched, the enraged woman managed a curt nod. She felt the steel grip of Sam's companion let go at her acquiesce. Heart thumping loudly she ignored the muted conversation between the three men as she focused on keeping her breathing regular.

"Given the similar statements from Miss Madsen and Mr. Whitmann, you are free to go Miss Chase. I don't ever want to see your face in my airport again. Am I clear?"

She bit back the retort on the tip of her tongue and only nodded briefly, her grey eyes burning holes at the smug agent. Feeling Sam tug on her arm gently she left the room she had been detained in and made her way down the corridor. As the trio exited the security wing the raven haired woman caught sight of the blond Australian and her large friend who appeared to be waiting for them.

"Look 'Hide! There's Maggie and Glen! What do you know, that jerk kept his word."

"You know them?" Aislinn piped up confused.

"Yeah, I do. I met them a couple of years ago and our paths just kept crossing. It's become a regular thing to hang out with them every couple weeks or so." Sam kept his voice light.

Shaking her head in disbelief, the petite Irish woman just muttered under her breath.

"Mags! You look terrible!" A shadow crossed over the young man's face momentarily betraying his worry to anyone paying close attention.

"Thanks Sam." The Australian croaked painfully, wincing as she rubbed her neck gingerly. Catching sight of Aislinn, the beautiful blond perked up. "I am so glad you are okay. Thank you for your help earlier."

"Oh, no problem. The creep had it coming. I mean what kind of jerk chokes a woman he doesn't even know?" The two women smile at each other in understanding. The first step towards a foundation of friendship was being molded.

"Well I guess I should introduce you. Guys, this is Aislinn Chase, and Ace this is Maggie Madsen, Glen Whitmann and Ironhide."

"Ironhide?"

"Yeah, he was or rather _is_ in the military. It's a code name of sorts." Sam let out a short nervous laugh.

"Don't worry about it little lady. We have an odd assortment of friends." Glen broke in smoothly.

"Shall we leave now Sam?" Maggie asked hoarsely eager to be away from the airport which suited the youngest Witwicky just fine. He cast a glance over his shoulder and saw Ironhide keeping alert behind them.

"It'll be a tight fit but we should all be able to squeeze into the truck. Come on guys, this way."

"No prob Sam, a friend of my cousin's left us his ride and was gonna pick it up later so we'll just bounce outta here in that and meet up with you at Prime's." Glen said with a pointed look.

"You sure?" The teen asked slowly, his face masked to appear indifferent.

"Yeah man. We'll be fine. Might stop and grab some food and some ice for Mags, but we'll be there."

"Yeah, Ok man. Be careful." He gave a little fist bump to Glen before patting Maggie gingerly on the arm.

He watched as his two friends walked away wondering if he should have stopped him. No he should just let them go. No one else, well no other _human_, knew of the latest Intel about the Decepticons and he planned to keep it that way.

Even though he had a feeling deep in his gut that the attack on Maggie and by default Ace was no random one.

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Lights. Red and white.

Slowly the world came back into view albeit very fuzzy. Sound rushed into her ears and her breath hitched with panic as she made out the sound of voices.

"Can you hear me? I am a medic and am here to help you."

Amber irises stared out from half lidded eyes as she struggled to respond.

"I…I…I…h..hear you."

She started shivering from a burning cold feeling that seemed to originate from her very bones. Blinking rapidly she struggled to move.

"No!"

The shout scared her so badly that she fell back in fear.

"No, do not move until I can access the damage."

"O…O…Okay." She said dumbly, noticing that the world was coming into sharper focus. She was able to make out a handsome man around thirty with a goatee. He had brilliant blue eyes which stared at her in concern. She focused on those eyes as a lifeline.

Pain wracked her senses as she struggled to maintain a normal breathing pattern. With every breath she took she felt sharp agony in her lungs. The urge to cough was strong and she had a sinking feeling that doing so would be a bad idea. Movement on her right drew her attention and she shifted her eyes to see a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in the uniform of a rescue squad member. Aqua eyes met hers, filled with concern and compassion.

It had been such a long time since anyone looked at her like that. Like she was worth something. Not since her best friend moved five years ago had anyone cared about her. The orphan who was alone in the world.

She closed her eyes and felt tears seep out from beneath her lids. Unable to suppress her cough reflex, the young woman turned her head to the side and let out the heavy cough that clawed at her throat. She was not surprised to feel fluid project violently from her mouth and into her shoulder length hair. She stared in horror at the red flecks that stained the brightly lit asphalt around her. An unwanted thought occurred to her.

She was going to die.

The pain in her small body was overwhelming and the coldness increased to a point where she was numb. She felt darkness cloud the edges of her vision.

"T…T…Tell h…her I…I am…s…s…sorry."

The beautiful brunette with the aqua eyes crouched down to look her in the eye.

"Tell who?" She asked gently.

"M…M…My f…f…friend. A…A…isl……"

She was tired of struggling. For too many years she had survived just to make it in this cold world alone. No longer. She was tired, so tired. She let the darkness overtake her and welcomed the sweet oblivion that followed.

Maybe things would be better on the other side.

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"No, not that one!" Maggie exclaimed in frustration.

"Damn girl! You choose then!" Glen said relinquishing his hold on the dial of the radio in the ancient Datsun. They had been arguing over the radio since the left the airport a half hour ago.

Muttering about white girls and their taste in music, the large man kept his eyes on the road as the Australian tried to steer and turn the dial on the crappy stereo.

"_May good fortune be with you,_

_May your guiding light be strong_

_Build a stairway to heaven_

_With a prince or vagabond…"_

"Ooooh…I adore this song!" His blond companion said before singing loudly.

Mentally rolling his eyes, Glen just let Maggie belt out the words although it sounded as if it was painful for her. Complain as he might, this white girl could sing, abused throat or not, and _it_ was a good song. Though he would never admit that out loud.

"_And may you never love in vain_

_And in my heart you will remain_

_Forever young, Forever young."_

Approaching the exit off of the freeway, Maggie moved over to the off ramp and when they finally pulled to a stop at the lights at the end, they both were singing loudly along with the song.

"_Forever young, Forever young!"_

The beautiful blond uncapped her water bottle and took a small sip to cool her burning throat. Angry that she most likely set back the full function of her voice a few days, she was strangely satisfied at being able to belt out an old Rod Stewart song.

And _not_ sound like a bullfrog.

She was suddenly thrust out of her thoughts as they were slammed into from behind with such force that they were sent careening through the intersection, narrowly missing a lone minivan that just honked their horn at them before speeding up and disappearing from sight.

"Shit!" She exclaimed trying to regain control of the car as they spun around. Glen held on for dear life as he tried to see who had rammed into them. A telephone pole was kind enough to stop their momentum as they spun into it badly crumpling the driver's side front quarter panel.

"Damn man, Roger is gonna kick my ass!" He said as they finally came to a stop both breathing heavily.

Maggie's knuckles were white from her grip on the steering wheel. The two computer whizzes slowly exited the car to look at the damage, the blond having to exit through the passenger side.

"Wait, your cousin's name is Roger?" The Australian asked with shaky humor as they both assessed the damage to the old Datsun.

"Yeah." Glen said distractedly blinking heavily behind his thick glasses as he glanced up and down the eerily deserted street. For the time of night being only around 9:30 pm, it seemed odd that there was no one in sight. A shiver ran down the large man's back.

"Mags, something ain't right here."

The beautiful blond understood her friend's meaning. It was quiet, _too_ quiet. The events of this evening weighed heavily on her. She absently touched the right side of her neck where her tattoo was usually hidden by her long hair and felt the hotness of the bruised tissue, the result of her earlier attack.

"Maybe we should call one of the guys. We can't really hope to get this hunk of junk running with the amount of damage done."

"Yeah, okay. I got this. I'll call Sergeant Epps."

Nodding her head as Glen whipped out his cell phone she hoped that either the Sergeant or Captain Lennox would be available. After having officially formed the diplomatic council for the Cybertronians, the two men and their team had been stationed nearby to help defend against any Decepticon attacks. Both men were members of the council as were Glen, Maggie, Sam and Mikaela. Unfortunately, Agent Simmons and Tom Banacheck were advisers to the council. A move that Maggie disagreed with heartily, but as her boss Defense Secretary John Keller told her, it was better to keep the two men close under a watchful eye.

She knew Ironhide and Bumblebee kept both of their optics on the two former Sector 7 agents.

She rubbed her forehead tiredly as she tuned out Glen's voice as he talked on his phone. She really didn't need the events of the evening replayed. Walking a few yards away, the young woman stared out at the dark street. A small breeze whipped her hair around her as she caught a faint sound.

"I'm telling ya man, you should see this hunk of junk! Unbelievable! We're lucky we weren't seriously hurt!"

Concentrating on the faint sound that seemed to further down the road, Maggie shushed her friend.

"Woman, I'm talking here. Don't shush me!"

"Glen, SHUT UP!"

The large man's mouth hung open in surprise at the sharpness of his companions tone. She was staring intensely down the deserted road.

"I don't know man, Mags only told me to hush up." Glen whispered into his phone. A sound caught his ear and the large man paled at the familiar whirring and clicking noise as a transformation took place.

"Uh…Robert…I don't suppose one of the Autobots are near our location, cause I think we have company of the alien sort!" The black man said with panic in his tone.

_BOOM! BOOM!_

"Oh fuck…." He whispered as a large mechanical humanoid came running towards them, red eyes glowing ominously.

"Glen!"

He responded to the terror in Maggie's voice rushing to her side and pulling on her arm.

"Mags, we gotta go girl!"

Both of the computer geniuses took off running the opposite way keeping to small, tight spaces in an attempt to evade their pursuer.

"Epps, we need assistance NOW!!" The large man said hysterically as a fist crashed into a storefront display right in front of them.

The Australian felt her ankle buckle at her sudden stop to avoid the large mechanical fist and the heel snapped off her left shoe. Kicking both of her shoes off, the blond darted around the large figure of the enemy and dragged Glen away with strength she didn't know she possessed. Wincing as shards of glass from the shattered store window pierced the soles of her feet, she didn't stop running.

She prayed help would come soon.

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Mikaela watched in concern as the young woman lost consciousness.

"Ratch? Is she going to be alright?"

The large medic processed the information from the scan he had done.

"The damage is quite extensive, but if I can get her back to base I believe I can fully heal her."

"Okay." The brunette said simply as she walked determinedly over to the back of the Hummer to pull out the gurney.

Smiling at his companion, the millennia old Autobot positioned his holoform to help. This was one of the many things he lov… _liked_ about Mikaela. She was relatively calm in high stress situations and she was quick on her feet.

He swiftly but carefully loaded the slim figure of the unconscious woman onto the stretcher as Mikaela retrieved the comatose woman's purse from the wrecked car. Working together, in no time the two were back on the road with the beautiful brunette keeping a watchful eye on their patient.

Ratchet careened through the streets, siren wailing as he rushed back to the Autobot base. He switched his holoform to his intangible hologram to conserve energy.

"How is she doing?"

"Not so good Ratch." She opened the purse that had been lying on the bench next to her and pulled out a California state driver's license.

"Her name is Alexis. Alexis Paxter. She is nineteen years old, today." Suddenly tears filled her aqua eyes. "Today was her birthday." She whispered.

"Don't cry Mikaela Banes." The medic's voice soothed unaware that his words angered the beautiful brunette.

"It's MIKAELA!! Why can't you just call me that?!"

Silence greeted her tone and she felt instantly contrite, but stubbornness kept her apology from being vocalized. As the minutes ticked away, the quietness of the ride was oppressive. Still she refused to apologize for her harshness even as her guilt gnawed at her.

Bowing her head she allowed a few tears to escape, unaware that one had fallen to the floor of the Rescue vehicle. Why should she care how Ratchet addressed her? He was thousands of years old and was from an alien species. Seriously, when had she become so infatuated with the medic that she had lost all control of her emotions around him?

Unrequited love really sucked.

"We are here." His quiet voice said startling her.

Her head snapped up and she quickly wiped the tears from her face.

"Okay." She said dully before preparing their patient for the swift trip to the medical wing of the base.

She never noticed the hologram that had observed her emotional pain or the equal look of sorrow that adorned his handsome features.

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**A/N: Well there's chapter 2. Obviously this story will be building up and there will be MUCH more to follow. The song referenced in this chapter is **_**"Forever Young" by Rod Stewart**_**. As this is my 1****st**** Transformers story, I am pretty worried that I will screw this up painfully, but all one can do is try, right?**

**Anyway, let me know what you think.**

**Thanks for reading everyone!**

**F.L.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own anything Transformer related nor am I making any profit from this story. Any original characters and/or settings belong to me and permission is needed from me before using any OC's/plot that I am currently writing as I have worked hard on the creation of this tale. Any similarities to other works of fan fiction are **_**purely**_** unintentional.**

**Pairings****: Mikaela/ Ratchet, Sam/Bumblebee, Sunstreaker/Maggie, OC/Barricade and Starscream/Alexis.**

**Warning:**** Disturbing content in this story. You have been warned.**

**Trials of Hell**

**Chapter Three**

"And furthermore, what the hell were ye thinking mon?! You forgot about me and now you expect me t' accept the fact that ye were sleeping as an excuse?!"

Sam leaned his head back against the seat from where he was situated between Ironhide's holoform that was driving and the passenger seat from where his cousin was ranting.

Ranting since Maggie and Glen had left them at the airport.

He couldn't blame Aislinn for her anger. Particularly when he took into account the fact a mere three months ago his Aunt and Step-Uncle had been killed in a car crash. His mother had been inconsolable at the loss of her sister and had immediately insisted that Ace move in with them. In Judy Witwicky's opinion, Aislinn needed to come home to where her remaining family was. He didn't go to the funeral as his obligations kept him in the States. It wasn't until Optimus had personally explained to the grieving, irate woman that Sam was needed _here_ that she relented.

After all having a thirty something foot tall robot tell you that your son was needed to help maintain peace and secrecy wasn't something to sneeze at.

But Sam felt selfish because honestly, he didn't _want_ to go. He did not like the idea of being so far away from Bumblebee and that was the honest truth. His guardian once named _"Satan's Camaro"_ had become _too_ important to him.

A subject he did _not_ like to think about due to the implications.

Ironhide's chuckle brought him out of his thoughts as he turned his head to see what was so funny. He was met by a striking pair of grey eyes that stared daggers at him.

"Uh…yes?"

Those heavily lashed eyes glaring at him narrowed. He gulped not wanting to be on the receiving end of her temper any longer. He prayed to whatever deity that may be listening, that he had said the right thing. He watched his cousin warily as she snorted and leaned back in her seat tiredly rubbing her temples.

"Never mind. It's o'er with now and that is wha' matters."

Silence reigned for a few minutes before Sam spoke again.

"I _am_ sorry Aislinn. I didn't mean to leave you stranded. At least you were there to help out Mags. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't whack that asshole good."

A half smile crept across the Irish woman's face. "That's why ye are still breathing."

Ironhide snorted in a poor attempt to conceal his mirth. Ah, this Irish lass was spunky! Rather like Mikaela. Both were different in appearance but striking nonetheless. At least for humans. He had a feeling that Witwicky's cousin would become a permanent fixture in the Autobots lives. She seemed sharp and it would be difficult for Sam to conceal the existence of…well…_them_ from her.

He smiled inwardly at the good natured bickering from his two passengers. While he absolutely detested acting as a chauffer, he was glad to have volunteered his services this night. Such entertainment!

"_Lennox to Ironhide. Come in!"_

Snapping to attention he responded vocally to the tinny voice that came in through the radio.

"Ironhide here. What's the situation?"

"_Hostile activity of the Decepticon sort. What is your status?"_

Ironhide exchanged a grim look with Sam while Aislinn looked on in confusion.

"I have Sam and his cousin with me and I am _en route_ to his house. We were planning on dropping off Miss Aislinn Chase before heading to bas….Prime's."

Silence greeted his words. He knew that Will was absorbing his words and figuring out a way to phrase his request. He mentally connected to the radio link.

"_Lennox, Where?"_

"_Downtown, south end."_

"_Who is it?"_

"_Glen and Maggie."_

Forgetting to verbalize mentally he shouted "Slag it!! We just left them about forty minutes ago!"

Sam whipped his head towards the irate weapon's specialist. "What? Oh no, no, no, no! Mags has already been through enough tonight! We have to help them!"

Ironhide was already on his comlink to the Autobot base requesting assistance and barking orders for Lennox to be contacted. He swerved around before popping a U-Turn with an impressive squeal of tires before racing towards the coordinates that Will had just relayed to him.

He hoped he reached the two analysts in time.

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Mikaela watched silently as the comatose woman continued to breathe on her own, Ratchet was busy with scanning and healing her numerous injuries to the best of his rather formidable abilities. The stunning brunette gently smoothed the bloodied hair of their patient. She didn't know what is was but something inside of her had been screaming since her first sight of this woman.

She just _knew_ that Alexis Paxter was _supposed_ to be here. There was no other way she could explain it.

The door to the Med Lab slid open as a newcomer entered.

"How is she?" Arcee asked quietly.

"Better." Ratchet answered distractedly, his eyes never leaving the scanning device.

Smiling wanly, Mikaela shrugged to the pink Bot's question. Arcee flicked her vivid blue gaze from the medic to her and back again. Seeing the sorrow in the eyes of her human friend the femme smiled sympathetically. She knew about the deep emotion that the beautiful human had for the long-time Autobot medic. It was not something that Mikaela had come out and told her. It was more from observation. A couple of months ago, the sole femme of the Autobots had managed to get the brunette alone and so confronted her with her observations resulting in a fast and cemented friendship between the two.

"She'll be alright though?"

Sighing heavily, the yellow mech turned his attention to the smaller Bot. "She has sustained substantial bruising and internal bleeding. As well as three broken ribs and a punctured lung. I have done what I can, but she should be fine."

Flashing yellow lights interrupted any response that Arcee had. She strode out of the Med Bay without a word as a suddenly grim Ratchet followed leaving Mikaela alone by the young woman's bedside, torn between leaving or staying. She knew the yellow lights meant an alert status and it wasn't that far of a stretch to believe that Decepticons were involved.

She hoped that everyone was and would be alright.

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Sirens in the distance brought fresh hope to a battered Australian as she and her large friend slipped deeper in the shadows of a bakery. Miraculously, they had managed to evade the Decepticon on their tails but just barely. Both of them were covered in numerous cuts and scrapes from all of the shattered glass from the storefronts and street lights.

Maggie still couldn't believe how lucky they had been so far, her eyes drifting up and down the side alley they were hiding in. Her attention was caught by an innocuous round disc on the ground.

Oh course! They could go underground.

She nudged Glen pointing to their salvation. He nodded his head vigorously after a moment of confusion. Cautiously they crept over and carefully began to move the manhole cover aside. Unfortunately, there was no way that they could get it all the way off quietly so gritting their teeth they heaved hard as a loud **SCCRRRREECCHHHHHH **gave away their position.

"Glen, GO!" The beautiful blond said as she heard gigantic footsteps booming towards their location. Not arguing with his companion, the black man lowered himself down the hole muttering beneath his breath about rats.

Paling as she realized that the cut soles of her bare feet would be exposed to dozens of microbes and germs, the Australian hesitated. Glancing towards the mouth of the alley she saw twin red beams of light scanning the street soon to be upon her and Glen calling for her in a harsh whisper. Hoping that Ratchet would have some antibiotics available for when she developed a nasty blood infection she dived towards the man hole, descending the ladder quickly.

Grabbing her arm, Glen led her a good distance away from the open hole above their heads. Grimacing with disgust and covering her nose so she wouldn't gag at the stench, the two analysts watched with bated breath as twin red beams of light lit up the darkness of their hiding spot. Slowly creeping further away the two friends kept their eyes on the enemy.

Suddenly Glen yelped as he began to fall backwards down a small cement incline. Grasping wildly he latched onto Maggie who let out a small scream as she was carried backwards from her large friend's momentum. Tumbling down, they both landed with a splash in the most horrific smelling stagnant water either had ever encountered.

Retching violently, the beautiful blond did not notice the lack of noise until the street above them was blown to bits a few yards from their location raining chunks of asphalt down on them.

"Geez! What _is_ it with this guy?! Why is he after us?" Glen exclaimed panicked as he helped the Australian to her feet.

"Run now! Questions later!" She ordered as they staggered further down the sewer. Sounds of explosions behind them marked their passage from where their relentless pursuer tracked them.

Pausing, Maggie leaned against the wall no longer caring about the filth. They couldn't continue on blindly and as there weren't any other options. She was loathe to do what she could see as the only solution. They were lost, filthy, battered and Glen had lost his phone before they even entered the sewers. Since it was only a matter of time before they were caught maybe doubling back would work.

She quietly explained her thoughts to her large friend and waited impatiently for him to get over his stuttering.

"You want us to go _towards_ the giant killer robot?"

"Yes."

"Girl, are you insane?! He's gonna kill us!!"

"I don't think so Glen. He could've blown us to bits by now but he is content to just…well…herd us along."

"He's playin' with us. He's the damn cat and we're the mice. Cats play with their food, ya know! I've seen it! One time Snowball brought home a field mouse and she just batted it around after …."

Exasperated, Maggie snapped. "Shut UP Glen!! Stay here if you want, but I would like to at least try to get out of this in one piece. I don't really see another way, do you?"

At his wide-eyed look she sighed heavily even as another thunderous boom sounded close to them. Making a split second decision she ran towards the blast leaving a gaping friend in her wake.

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Barricade's face plates curved into a twisted smile as he shot another cannon blast towards the street below him. When Shockwave had ordered him to capture any humans he could that had knowledge of the Autobots, the black and white Decipticon had grumbled in annoyance but had wisely chosen not to argue with the new leader of their faction. Instead the Cybertronian hunter had staked himself out near Samuel J. Witwicky's house in the hopes of catching the slaghead alone without his guardian's protection.

Tonight was the first time he had a chance to capture the meathead, but unfortunately for him he was occupied by a much needed recharge and it wasn't until the squishy had arranged a meet with Ironhide that he had paid attention.

It was one thing to avoid the scanners of the pathetic yellow scout but another completely to pull one over on the Autobot Weapon's Specialist. So he took off for a better vantage point, determined to follow them. A rather fortuitous decision on his part since now he had two more meatheads that have had and continue to have relations with the Autobots. Thanks to Frenzy's hacking abilities, Barricade had idents for both of the humans and knew they were part of the council that had been established to maintain a peaceful truce.

He chose to follow them as he could always get the Witwicky boy another time. It wasn't difficult to disable their vehicle. A sharp nudge from him sent their car careening into a post. He could've easily captured them then but he wanted to have a bit of fun first. While Shockwave was not a mech to cross he was in no way fear inspiring like Megatron or even Starscream were. Lord Megatron had ruled with brutality while Starscream would have ruled with cunning and deceit. Of course that is if anyone ever found the damn flyer. He had returned to Earth almost a year past and suddenly disappeared, no one seeing or hearing from him.

As much as Barricade disliked the rightful Decepticon leader, now that Megatron was gone, he sure wished Starscream was here in charge instead of Shockwave.

Lost in his thought processes he never noticed the missile that was projected his way until it crashed into his shoulder.

Roaring in pain, the Decepticon hunter turned his attention towards the military jeep, his shoulder sparking as wires were melted and burned. Bringing up his gun to return fire, a cannon blast from behind him caught his attention.

"Barricade!"

Snarling the black and white mech launched himself at the broad figure of Ironhide. Unable to avoid the slightly smaller mech's onslaught, the Autobot weapons specialist went crashing to the ground. The two mechs wrestled around for the upper hand, ignoring the human activity around them.

Sam crept with caution over towards the two grappling Cybertronians, his shell-shocked cousin following him blindly. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Aislinn's pale face smudged with dirt. At least he had given her a brief synopsis of the events that had happened with the Allspark so she wasn't totally ignorant of the Cybertronians. Though it was still obviously a lot to absorb.

He saw Sergeant Epps drop down into the sewers followed by a couple of his soldiers while Captain Lennox remained aboveground barking orders to the remaining soldiers. A loud roar of pain drew his attention back towards the battling mechs.

A screech of tires announced the arrival of Arcee. Seeing himself outnumbered Barricade detangled himself and sent his large opponent crashing into the now transformed newcomer.

He caught movement out of the corner of his optic and saw the Witwicky boy and an unfamiliar companion within reach. He lunged managing to capture the human femme in his hand. He held her up to eye level, his red optics boring into her frightened eyes.

And yet she didn't scream. Even when he tightened his grip around her painfully. How odd.

"Let me down now ye big brute!! I'll have ye balls fo' dinna!" She shouted.

Confused Barricade took a second to look up her meaning on the World Wide Web. His eyes narrowed as he returned his attention back to her not pleased with her reference. Of course his anatomy was not the same as a human's in his true mech form but his _holoform_ was another thing.

"Silence insect before I squash you!" He said harshly.

The Autobots and human military were all watching him warily ready to attack if given the chance. None were willing to risk the life of this human that the Witwicky boy was screaming at him to release. He saw his original victims emerge from underground filthy and wet. He stood indecisive for a moment before lunging forward and capturing the two foolish humans in his other hand before the military could stop him.

The large black man was screaming while the femme was holding on for dear life as she wasn't securely in his grip. He opened his other hand holding the companion of Witwicky before releasing the blond where she fell in his palm heavily. He eyed the two femmes interestedly before turning his attention to the large human male he held. After a moments thought, he carelessly tossed the man towards the soldiers who stood with their weapons trained on him. They had to scramble to help catch the loud black squishy.

"Barricade! Let Maggie and Aislinn go….NOW!!!" Ironhide said sternly his cannon trained on his enemy with Arcee backing him up.

"I don't think so slagger! These two meatbags will go to Shockwave as ordered." He returned gruffly. Smiling wickedly, he tossed both females up before catching them again and then repeating. They couldn't help the screams of terror that escaped from their lips.

Maggie fell heavily after the second toss gaining even more bruises. She saw Aislinn slipping and lunged for her hand grasping it while the woman dangled about three stories off of the ground. Unbalanced, the blond woman toppled over to the side, her bruised neck brushing against the metal palm of the Decepticon. She struggled to hold onto Aislinn with all of her strength when a bright light suddenly enveloped the two women and Barricade's hand.

Frozen in place the Decepticon could only watch in surprise as the light grew to envelop his entire form. The others watching the shocking display shielded their eyes against the brilliance and heard a crashing sound and a high shrieking noise that shattered any surrounding glass that remained and rendered them momentarily deaf.

Slowly the light died out and through spotty vision, Sam was able to make out Barricade's figure on his knees, head down and was he…_panting_? Ironhide put a cautious finger on his shoulder as he moved to get closer. Lennox had the same idea as he and his soldiers moved carefully towards the Decepticon.

Suddenly, Barricade raised his head and stared right into Ironhide's optics. His optics flashed once before he tottered over backwards with a crash, offline. His hand was still curled around the two women who were unconscious.

Ironhide and Arcee stood their in disbelief. They knew their processors had not glitched on them so it was with trepidation they eyed the still figure of the black and white hunter.

"We need to take him with us 'Hide." The pink Bot said softly. "I'll radio the base for assistance."

The black mech just nodded his head absently. Lennox approached him and Ironhide turned his attention towards his human friend as he focused on what was needed. As he discussed travel arrangements with Will, he could not get one vision out of his processor.

Barricade's optics had been blue.

Autobot blue.

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**A/N: Yay….an update!!!! Let me know what you guys think. I know the story is shaping up slowly but I hope it'll be worth it. Things will pick up as more of the plot is established.**

**Thanks for Reading Everyone!!**

**F.L.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own anything Transformer related nor am I making any profit from this story. Any original characters and/or settings belong to me and permission is needed from me before using any OC's/plot that I am currently writing as I have worked hard on the creation of this tale. Any similarities to other works of fan fiction are **_**purely**_** unintentional.**

**Pairings****: Mikaela/ Ratchet, Sam/Bumblebee, Sunstreaker/Maggie/? (Well **_**I**_** know but it's a surprise), OC/Barricade and Starscream/Alexis.**

**Warning:**** Disturbing content in this story. You have been warned.**

**Trials of Hell**

**Chapter Four**

The glint of starlight reflected off the windshield of a large navy blue SUV as it raced across the Nevada desert at an inhuman pace. There were not any housing establishments out this far as the area was rather remote and desolate. The only thing in the vicinity was an abandoned aerial graveyard. It was towards this destination the Cadillac Escalade headed.

Since arriving on this backwater planet, the Cybertronian had rarely left the established Decepticon base located in the northern reaches of Montana where there was virtually none of the human species around for miles. That suited their purposes just fine. Regrouping their numbers had been a high priority for the new leader Shockwave as they gathered intel on the Autobots and their allies. Many grumbled at the lack of action and were rather vocal regarding their disdain of the new Decepticon leader, most particularly Thunderblast and Thundercracker, the latter who was now Air Commander of the Decepticons since Starscream's disappearance.

In fact it was because of the aforementioned mech that the Communication Officer found himself in his current location. While having been completely loyal to Megatron for eons, the Decepticon had the same self-serving programming any of their faction had, albeit muted due to his lack of emotions. He did not see a victorious win in their future given the path Shockwave was on and as such took leave to track down the former Decepticon Air Commander.

Although his leave of absence had not been approved or even _requested_, he was not concerned. His loyalty to the Decepticons had never been questioned and as such he had more room to maneuver than most others did. Though Shockwave _did_ like to keep a close optic on the Communications Officer as he was considered the only threat to his current rule since Starscream was no where to be found.

Something he planned to change.

Having no real interest in the politics that governed their kind, the large mech had no thoughts of changing the _Status Quo _until he had overheard a conversation between Thundercracker and Demolisher. Both mechs seemed rather spiteful of Shockwave and were discussing what the regime would be like if Starscream was in charge.

_How the world would burn!_ Thundercracker had expressed wistfully.

Feeling a twinge of interest which to any other Cybertronian would be a burning desire, the Communication's Officer reached a rather significant solution.

Find Starscream and restore the Decepticons to glory.

So working in secrecy the past few weeks on developing a new program to track the Seeker's obsolete signal, he had finally picked up something which led to his current position out here in the desert. Starscream was here somewhere. He would find him and bring him back. Hopefully any damage to the missing mech could easily be repaired.

He let his thoughts turn towards the strange occurrence about an earth hour ago when his spark had twinged rather suddenly and painfully. After running a diagnostic he found himself in perfect working order but that did not prevent the sliver of unease that had taken root deep in his processor. The fact that he even felt that feeling, no matter how small, unnerved him. Feeling unbalanced and not liking it one iota, the mech was determined to ignore it.

After all, Soundwave did not _do_ feelings.

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Sam clutched his cousin's hand from where she lay on the pavement having been pried out of Barricade's hand none to gently by Ironhide. Maggie was positioned next to her with Glen crouched at her side. The large male was very worried for his best friend, a fact he would deny vehemently if anyone asked him but it was all too obvious to the gathered Autobots and soldiers.

The area in a five block radius had been cordoned off by the government surprisingly fast. Now they were waiting for Optimus Prime and Ratchet. Given the nature of the incident it was thought best by all that the Autobot medic look after the two unconscious women rather than taking them to a hospital.

"How are they?"

Sam looked up to see Air Force Technical Sergeant Robert Epps crouching down at his side. The handsome man's eyes drifted from Aislinn before resting on the Australian.

With a sigh, Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Well according to your Field Medic Johnson, their breathing and pulse are fine."

"Well that's good then."

"Man, how is that good?! Mags here went through hell tonight and that was before tin man there chased us down!" Glen said angrily.

"Whoa...chill dawg. I can see the lady has been roughed up a bit. Wanna explain why?" Epps said evenly, his dark eyes flashing with…_something_.

"That should wait until we are all back at base." Ironhide said sternly. "Everyone will want to know about this and the retelling would be better to do only once."

"You're right big guy." Captain Lennox said joining the group. He gave a cursory once over, wincing as he saw the state of his fellow council members. He immediately called for blankets ignoring the sheepish looks on Glen and Sam's faces for not thinking of that kindness themselves.

While Aislinn looked banged up a little, her clothes remained in relatively decent shape. Maggie on the other hand was a mess. Her blouse had numerous rips and tears while her skirt was near shredded and damned close to being indecent.

The wail of a close siren gained their attention as Ratchet hurriedly braked before transforming and approaching the two women and offline mech ignoring the slight twinge he was feeling in his spark casing. Swiftly running a scan over the comatose women and "hmmming" to himself the medic quickly assured everyone present that the females were in no immediate danger.

Optimus pulled up escorting a flat-bed truck that would be used to transport Barricade to the Autobot base in the abandoned warehouse district back in Tranquility. Remaining in his Peterbilt semi form, the Autobot leader kept a protective vigil of the surroundings as the Decepticon was loaded up and covered. Seeing the Ratchet now had possession of the human femmes in his H2 form, he opened a link back to base where the twins were monitoring the communications system.

_/Prime to base. We are heading back now and request all Autobots to be recalled immediately. We will debrief when we arrive./_

_/It will be done sir. Sideswipe out./_

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Bumblebee was cruising along the Pacific Coast Highway on his way back to his charge's house. Keeping to his current speed he would be there in a couple of hours. He was tempted to accelerate to his full speed which would cut his time down to just under three-quarters of an earth hour but forced himself to not draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

He had been deployed earlier for a reconnaissance assignment to check out a landing site of what appeared to be a Decepticon signal. Finding the empty pod was easy and noting the lack of tracks around the site pointed that the newcomer was not a land based Cybertronian.

Unfortunately.

Not having an aerial mech on their side, the last thing the Autobots needed was for another Decepticon in the air. While nothing had been seen of Starscream for a solar cycle, his fellow Seeker Thundercracker had caused a few cases of havoc of his own.

If this Decepticon was an air-based mech then they were slagged well and good. If only the legendary Jetfire or even the bookworm aerial tactician Skydive were here. At least that would even the playing field.

_/Sunstreaker to Bumblebee./_

_/Go ahead 'Streaker./_

_/The boss Bot wants you to return to base as fast as your slow aft can carry you./_

Bristling at the slight from the narcissistic twin, the Autobot spy responded coolly.

_/On my way you ugly excuse for a glitch./_

Cutting the link the young Autobot smirked in satisfaction. Sunstreaker would have his aft for insulting his looks but it was the fastest way to rile that particular mech up. The yellow mech remembered when the golden Autobot first arrived on earth with his brother. The twins picked the flashy alt forms of Chevrolet Corvette Centennials and were proudly showing off when a flock of birds flew overhead and several deposits of bird feces were dropped upon Sunstreaker's hood. The golden mech nearly short circuited before racing off to clean himself up leaving his twin Sideswipe to laugh uproariously.

Accelerating, the yellow Camaro raced along the highway easily weaving around any cars he came across at his high speed. Curious as to why Optimus recalled him when he was already on his way back, the spy opened a channel to the Autobot scout Hound who also was on a reconnaissance mission with the warrior Bluestreak.

_/Hound…it's Bumblebee. Come in please./_

_/Go ahead Bumblebee./_

The yellow Autobot spy would have arched an optic ridge had he been in his bipedal mode at the exhausted tone from the scout whose alt form was a dark green Jeep Wrangler.

_/Alright there Hound?/_

_/Yes youngling. Just resting my auditory sensors from Bluestreak's incessant prattling. What did you need?/_

Choosing to ignore being referred to as a youngling, the yellow mech asked the older Cybertronian if he knew why they were being recalled to base. Receiving a 'negative' in response, the Autobot spy closed the channel and sped up even further, his curiosity burning.

He hoped Sam was not in the middle of whatever had happened. That human seemed to attract trouble wherever he went and it was a full time job keeping up with him. Luckily, Bumblebee enjoyed his role as guardian to the young Witwicky as well as his company. The two of them were thick as thieves and complimented each other well, particularly when they decided to torment the twins. Which had the unfortunate result of an ongoing prank war that had turned the Autobot base upside down several times already.

Feeling a strong desire to be by his charge's side, the Camaro sped up to his maximum Cybertronian speed, intent on reaching the base as soon as possible.

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Mikaela glanced up repeatedly at the unconscious patient while she made up two more of the five human sized beds that flanked the injured woman. Sideswipe had informed her of the arrival of two more injured humans that Ratchet would take an in depth look at once he arrived with them. Unable to do anything further, the aqua eyed woman casually pulled her wet hair back into a loose bun. Spying her IPod lying forgotten on top of her Tranquility Rescue bag, the freshly showered woman was determined to take a few minutes to unwind before the next wave of excitement drew her away from anything that would pass for normalcy. She was pleased to see that the seizure inducing flashing lights had been cut off while she had been in the shower. That at least was one more worry that was gone. Of course she had no idea what _new_ worry would replace that one. Trying to pinpoint her mood to assist her in choosing an appropriate song was frustrating. One would think that picking a track would be an easy thing but it was significantly harder when she had so many thoughts racing through her mind.

Thoughts that tended to center around a certain Autobot medic.

"Aaargh!" She exclaimed exasperated flinging her IPod down on top of her gym bag. "God, just get out of my head!"

Her graceful form paced the room in her aggravation. Though as occupied with her thoughts as she was, she still had the presence of mind to check on the injured woman every few minutes. She wondered what the skinny girl had wanted to say before she lost consciousness. It was something about saying she was sorry. Sorry for what?

Her reverie was interrupted as she heard a loud commotion in the corridor before the Med Lab doors were loudly pushed open. A disheveled Sam entered the room flanked by a filthy Glen as the held the doors open. Captain Lennox and Sergeant Epps were the next ones through as they each carried a prone form.

Mikaela stepped back as Ratchet and Ironhide entered the room supporting a large black and white mech. The two Cybertronians placed the offline robot onto one of the med tables for the Autobots. Her eyes swiveled back towards where Will and Robert were placing two more comatose women on the human sized med beds that she had made up. It wasn't until she saw Glen brush the blond hair out of the face of one of the woman that she realized it was Maggie Madsen.

She gasped, horrified as she looked upon the battered body of her close friend. Taking a step closer she saw Sam grasp the hand of the raven haired woman and realized that this must be his cousin that he had to pick up from the airport earlier this evening.

"Sam?" She asked shakily.

He turned red-rimmed eyes towards her, grasping his cousin's hand even tighter. "It was Barricade." He said grimly motioning with his free hand to the Decepticon scout being restrained with chains by Ironhide while Ratchet busied himself with various scans of the offline mech.

"They're going to be alright 'Kaela. They're just unconscious from the shock of it all. They'll recover according to Ratchet."

"Optimus wants all of us to have a meeting when Bumblebee, Hound and Bluestreak get back which should be within the hour." Lennox informed the worried young woman.

"Maybe you should go get cleaned up man." Sergeant Epps said clapping the grime covered computer analyst on the shoulder.

"Nah... Man. I want to be here when she wakes up." Glen said quietly.

"Don't worry dawg. I got this." The handsome black man said. "I'll watch out for her until you get back. Though you know you gotta be at that meeting man."

Sighing, the big man nodded his head in agreement. "Aight. I'll be back in a flash."

Seeing as there wasn't much she could do, the beautiful brunette filled a nearby basin with warm water from the sink in the human side of the Med Bay. Grabbing a clean cloth she approached Maggie and began to carefully sponge off the dirt from her face and neck gasping at the dark bruising she found. Silently promising her friend to give her a proper bath once the meeting was over, she fetched some clean water to use on Sam's cousin.

"'Kaela, this is Aislinn, my cousin."

She nodded. "I figured. Don't worry I'm sure she'll be fine, Sam." Maneuvering herself between the two beds, the young woman began to clean the raven haired woman's face gently.

A while later after Glen had returned a loud crash startled Mikaela causing her to jump and drop the basin of dirty water.

"Damnit!" She muttered as she bent over to retrieve it. Ignoring Ratchet's shouts at Sunstreaker who had apparently dared enter the out-of bounds zone of the Med Bay. Shaking her head at her guardian's wrench throwing ways she politely asked one of the guys to get her some more water and toss her some towels to clean up with.

Sergeant Epps got her the water while Sam grabbed some nearby towels which she promptly placed on the floor to mop up the spill. She stepped cautiously on the slick floor as she moved the blanket covering Maggie further down her body so she could sponge off the blonde's legs wincing as she saw numerous cuts and bruises on her friend's bared skin.

"Who's that?" She heard a curious voice behind her. Not glancing up she responded "This is Maggie. Maggie Madsen. I don't think you two have officially met 'Streaker."

The golden Bot observed the woman on the bed his head cocked at an angle. "She's not bad looking for a meatbag."

Angry at his callous tone, the brunette whirled around looking up at the tall mech. "She is not a meatbag you big jerk! She's my friend!"

"Whoa, chill organic one. You know I meant no harm."

"Jesus "Streaker, why do you have to be such an ass?" Sam asked tiredly.

"Who lubricated in your Energon? Primus's sake, I was giving the human a compliment." The golden mech answered sourly.

"Just let it go, man." Glen said.

"What's going on?" A questioning voice asked by the doors.

"Miles! Get over here man." Sam exclaimed.

The lanky blond approached the humans, his face passive until he spied the still forms of three women, two of which were unknown to him. He scratched his head.

"So this must be what the meeting is about. Are they okay?"

"They will be." Mikaela said firmly ignoring the figure of Sunstreaker as he hovered behind her. Not liking the fact that he was not the center of attention the golden mech reached out a finger to poke the brunette femme in the back.

Shrieking, and for the second time in a few minutes span, Mikaela found herself jumping in surprise. Only this time the basin of water was flung into the air and she slipped when her foot made contact with the already slick floor. Flailing her arms she grasped for a hand hold and managed to retain her balance by latching onto Maggie's arm. Steadying herself, she reached out for the basin that had fallen on top of Aislinn, brushing her fingers against the pale woman's hand.

Sam watched in horror as a flash of light enveloped the three women.

"Not again!!" He cried out as he was blasted backwards from his cousin's side. He saw Glen and Miles pick themselves up off of the floor as both Sergeant Epps and Captain Lennox seemed to be rebounding off of an invisible wall that circled the three women.

"Primus…." Sunstreaker breathed as Miles steadied himself against the mech's foot, his blue optics fixed on the slowly rising figures of the three women.

"NO! Mikaela!!" Ratchet cried out as he raced over to the glowing orb surrounding the women.

Ironhide stood frozen in disbelief as he watched the events unfold on the other side of the room his spark flaring in agony. Through pain filled optics he saw Sunstreaker and Ratchet both grasp their spark casings in anguish letting out dual roars of pain that the Weapon's Specialist heard echoed from the other Autobots throughout base.

His dimming optics could barely make out the majestic figure of Optimus Prime as he staggered into the room. Loosing the battle to remain in working order, Ironhide slumped forward with a crash somehow still being able to register that his system had been overloaded from his spark.

_What in the name of Primus was happening?_

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**A/N**: **Phew…that was something to crank out. Any thoughts? Questions? I'd love to hear from you guys so drop me a line please. It's nice to know if I've sparked your interest. Pun intended!**

**Oh yeah, the Chevrolet Corvette Centennial is a CONCEPT DESIGN, something that GM worked on for the movie **_**Transformers Revenge of the Fallen**_** and to show a futuristic look at that line of models. You should check it out. Just Google Chevy Corvette Centennial Concept and you'll be able to find it.**

**Also, for those of you who aren't aware, Jetfire is also known as Skyfire. I think that pretty much covers it but I'm probably missing some tidbit of info for you guys, in which case I'm sorry.**

**As always, thanks for reading everyone!**

**F.L.**

_****I had to repost this as it was the INCORRECT version of this chapter. The change is barely noticeable and easily overlooked, but from my viewpoint I couldn't leave the error. So for inquiring minds here's the change:**_

_**Soundwave is in the desert at NIGHT TIME not during the rising dawn.**_

_**Told you it wouldn't seem that important!****_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own anything Transformer related nor am I making any profit from this story. Any original characters and/or settings belong to me and permission is needed from me before using any OC's/plot that I am currently writing as I have worked hard on the creation of this tale. Any similarities to other works of fan fiction are **_**purely**_** unintentional.**

**Pairings****: These are subject to change and may not be all that you would expect. **

_Mikaela/ Ratchet, Sam/Bumblebee, Sunstreaker/Maggie/? (Well I know, but it's a surprise), OC/Barricade and Starscream/Alexis._

**Warning:**** Disturbing content in this story. You have been warned.**

**Trials of Hell**

**Chapter Five**

Optimus Prime felt consciousness return to his processor with a jolt. Opening his optics he looked around him, feeling apprehension as he did not recognize the void where he seemed to be currently.

"_Welcome Bearer."_

A disembodied voice echoed throughout the nothingness that surrounded him. Without warning he sensed a change in the atmosphere and felt a rushing sensation flow through him. Shuttering his optics in alarm he braced for impact as he felt himself falling. Expecting to be slammed into the hard unforgiving ground, he was surprised to find himself landing upright in soft sand.

Snapping his optics open, his blue gaze absorbed his surroundings. He was on what appeared to be a beach, but one that could not have possibly been on the planet earth.

The sand was white as the radiance from the two moons that loomed largely overhead in the night sky shone down upon him. His audio sensors picked up the sound of the crashing serf nearby while a gentle breeze rustled the abundant foliage.

"_I have waited many, many millennia for your coming, Bearer."_

"Show yourself." He said authoritavely.

"_As you wish."_

A shimmer disturbed the air in front of him and the Autobot leader could only stare in shock as three familiar forms materialized on the sand, unconscious at his feet.

"What trickery is this?" He asked sternly.

An amused chuckle in the breeze was his only response for long moments. He could feel his frustration levels rising and forced himself to remain if not calm, than at least cautious.

"_There is no trickery here Lord Prime. Only the start of a long awaited destiny."_

"My destiny was decided eons ago and I have walked the path that Primus set forth for me." He said sternly.

"_And I am greater than Primus!" _

The genderless voice snarled in return, the sky darkening with storm clouds before slowly receding again.

"_It is not __**your**__ fate that I am concerned with Bearer, even as I have waited long for you and the role you will play in the future."_

Absorbing the words, Optimus felt a trickling of true icy fear spread through his system. He glanced down at the comatose forms of Mikaela Banes, Aislinn Chase and Maggie Madsen.

"_I see you are starting to understand. Yes, it is the destiny of these three human women that concerns me. Together they have a power that __**must**__ be protected at all cost. A power that some of your kind crave and will do anything to obtain. Lines will be crossed and enemies will become friends before all of this is over. Much pain and heartbreak is ahead, but it __**must**__ be this way." _

"Why?"

"_I have deemed it so! They are the key to the universe's survival, something I think you should be concerned about."_

"What is this power you speak of? And for that matter who are you exactly?" The Autobot leader asked forcefully.

"_Such impatience! Have no fear you will have your answers shortly. Now is the time for you to listen to me carefully, Bearer. The Cybertronian medic Ratchet guards Empathy, the young Mikaela Banes, so she already has a protector. Truth, the newcomer Aislinn Chase needs one and the choice will become obvious all too soon."_

Optimus waited somewhat impatiently for the disembodied voice to continue. He was surprised to see a form convalescence from the air and kneel next to the Australian, brushing her hair back gently.

Neither male nor female and yet both, the glowing form turned to look at him.

"_Do you see?"_

Raising an optic ridge, the tall mech saw where the being had gestured. There on the side of Maggie's neck was a small tattoo. Leaning forward for a closer look, he felt a burning in his spark as he saw the Cybertronian symbol for Justice.

"What does this mean?"

"_She above all holds the ability to deliver judgment that all must carry out and obey regardless of race or affiliations. She is my voice if I so choose."_

He could not believe this was happening.

"_Justice will need to be assigned a temporary guardian until her true one appears. I would like you to give Sunstreaker this task. One can hope that his negative outlook regarding the human race can be slightly altered in the time he spends with Maggie Madsen."_

Empathy, Truth and Justice. Three beings of immense power, legendary amongst the stars.

Sentinels of the Creator, the All Spark.

He knelt reverently to the glowing being and bowed his head. The All Spark still survived in the splinter he had managed to rescue from Megatron's chest two years ago, but to be here speaking with the Creator was more than he had ever thought possible.

He raised his head as a sudden thought crossed his mind.

_Cybertron._

His optics bright with hope, he looked to the glowing form of the All Spark who smiled genially at him.

"_Yes, Lord Optimus Prime, Bearer of the Matrix of Leadership, there is still hope, but you have much to do first."_

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With blue eyes the size of dinner plates, Miles gaped at the startling scene inside of the Med Bay. Ratchet, Optimus, Ironhide, Sunstreaker and the Decepticon Barricade were all offline in various painful looking stages of collapse.

Mikaela, Maggie and Sam's cousin, while no longer floating were laid out on the floor, still glowing that eerie white that was starting to fade. The other injured woman in the Lab had not regained consciousness yet.

Glen, Sergeant Epps, Captain Lennox and his best bro Sam stood, completely shell-shocked.

"Wha...Wha… just happened?" He managed to croak out.

One would think that entering into the secret world of the Autobots would prepare someone and help them deal with the unknown easier, but that was not the case. Finding out about the Cybertronians two years past, had been exhilarating. Until the day he died, Miles believed wholeheartedly that the memory of when Sam introduced Bumblebee and the newly arrived Arcee to him would remain a vivid one.

"Man…I don't know. Did you see that shit?" Epps asked, shaking his head.

No one responded to the Sergeant. Glen crept closer to his best friend and reached out gingerly to touch her and was pleased when he wasn't shocked or blasted back…_again_.

"Let's get them up." Lennox said.

The five men lifted the women and carefully placed them on beds. Each and every one of them was wondering what to do about the offline mechs. Will knew that he should call the Secretary of Defense John Keller, but a gut instinct cautioned him to wait.

"Bumblebee!" Sam's shout startled the men and they all looked to where the pale young man stood. Seeing the varying looks of confusion, he elaborated.

"He was on the way back here when all of this went down." He said waving his hand to indicate the cavernous lab. "What if he went offline too? He could've crashed! Same with Hound and Bluestreak!"

"Come on Sam. Let me see if I can reach him." The large computer analyst said as glanced once more at his long-time friend before exiting with the distraught young man. Feeling nervous at being left behind, Miles made his excuses and rushed off to check on the status of Sideswipe and Arcee who were somewhere on the base.

The two remaining military men exchanged looks before assuming a watchful vigil on all of the occupants in the room. Silence blanketed them as they waited for some sign of change.

"Should we call Keller?" Robert's low voice asked his Captain who had crossed his arms and leaned against a human sized work table.

"Yes, but I want to wait a little while longer. I have a feeling they'll be coming out of this relatively soon."

Arching a brow, the handsome dark skinned man just shrugged. "Aight." He thought for a moment before continuing. "Do you think the 'Cons were affected by whatever this _thing_ is?"

Ironically, his friend's question was one that had been bouncing around his brain. "I hope so. We're vulnerable to attack otherwise."

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Soundwave swerved wildly and sent a small missile towards the locked gates of the aerial graveyard. The burning in his spark was reaching epic proportions and he transformed suddenly even as his scan was picking up a slightly stronger signal that marked Starscream's location. With every step he took agony raced through his form but he ignored it to complete his self-assigned mission.

The aerial mech's signature spiked vividly on his scan just as a searing pain assaulted the Communications Officer bringing him crashing down with a roar. Distantly he heard another Cybertronian screech of pain before darkness took over his senses.

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Skywarp approached the desolate area that his scanners had picked up detecting a few muted Decepticon signals. Having landed only a short while ago, the Cybertronian Seeker had quickly scanned a human aircraft called a Boeing F-15 Strike Eagle as his alternative form from a nearby military base before setting off towards his current location.

_/Unknown Air Craft. State your Designation and Purpose./_

The flyer sneered at the voice that sounded across his radio.

_/Decepticon Skywarp here. What the slag do you think I want?/_

Silence greeted his declaration. Choosing to land before transforming,, the Seeker stretched to his full height and waited.

_/Decepticon Skywarp, Air Commander Thundercracker will escort you to base. His ETA is less than one earth minute./_

Barely acknowledging the message the newly arrived Decepticon couldn't mask his surprise.

_**Thundercracker**__ was Air Commander?_

The sound of a jet engine approached before his old Seeker teammate came into view. Noting, without a small amount of cynicism, that his new commander's alt form was the same as his.

Great. Just great.

The teleporting mech stood silently as Thundercracker touched down and transformed. The two former teammates eyed each other distrustfully.

"Skywarp."

"Thundercracker."

Sharp pain flared suddenly in both mechs and they found themselves doubled over with excruciating pain.

"What the _frag_ are you doing Skywarp?"

"Me?! It's _your_ doing you son of a glitch!"

The pain increased tenfold and the two flyers found themselves crashing to the ground, optics dimming as they went offline.

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Deep in a frozen cavern on the northernmost point of an island called Greenland, a large mech, even by Cybertronian standards, stood encased in a tomb of ice. For a millennia this hulking piece of machinery remained dormant and frozen, undamaged through the test of time.

A low humming filled the cavern shaking the overhead frozen stalactites ominously. Waves of heat began to pulse out from the mech's chest plate, slowly melting the ice that entombed him. The humming noise reached a crescendo and suddenly stopped. Silence reigned in the cavern before the sound of cracking and splitting ice filled the air.

A large servos twitched. Then the other. Suddenly, an outward explosion of ice rocked the cavern sending tremors through the ground fifty kilometers away.

Blue optics burned brightly.

He was free.

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Optimus Prime recovered first. His optics lit up a brilliant blue as he eased himself up from the concrete floor. He did a quick assessment and knew he was unharmed. Something was different though and he could not quite grasp what it was.

"Welcome back Big Guy." Captain Lennox said dryly.

Gazing around at the awakening Autobots, air escaped the vents of the tall mech as he sighed. His optics fell on the three women who were no longer glowing and were beginning to stir as well.

"Optimus?" The Autobot medic asked as he straightened himself out. "What happened?"

"Would you mind getting off of my servos Hatchet?" Sunstreaker said with a groan as he shakily rose to a kneeling position.

"Oh sorry." The medic said distractedly as he moved his foot from the golden mech's hand as he stood.

Lennox and Epps exchanged amused glances at the inattention of Ratchet. They weren't the only ones to note the lack of rebuttal on the yellow Bot's part.

Ironhide chuckled from where he was sitting near the stirring but strapped down form of Barricade. Rising to his full height the black mech centered his attention on the now online Decepticon hunter. He noted with interest the optics of the black and white mech were once again red.

"Release me now you fraghead!" The restrained mech snarled. Calmly pointing his cannon at the struggling Bot, Ironhide ignored him.

"Ugghh…My head." The aqua eyed brunette muttered as she sat up slowly.

"By the stars, Mikaela!" Ratchet gasped as he rushed to her side, towering over her. "Don't strain yourself."

"I'm fine Ratch." She said batting at his finger. "Just a tad dizzy."

"You're dizzy…." The raven-haired woman groaned. "It feels like my bruises have bruises. Dinna anyone get the number o' the truck that hit me?"

"Aislinn!" Sam shouted, having entered the room moments ago, Glen at his side.

"Sammy? What happened?" The Irish teen asked groggily opening her eyes. She screamed as she took in the forms of the Autobots, scrambling backwards on the bed.

Rushing to her side Sam tried to placate her. "No…Ace…its okay! Remember, I told you about them?"

Seeing the realization cross her face Sam sighed with relief as his overwhelmed cousin stopped her shouts.

_Right. Giant robots. And she thought Sam had been insane when he briefed her earlier._

Her eyes moved rapidly from mech to mech before landing on Barricade.

"_You!_" She said venomously. "Ye stupid, rusted bucket o' bolts!"

Shocked silence greeted her words as all eyes turned to the angry form of the Decepticon hunter.

"Shut your oral cavity, insect! I did not give you leave to address me!"

"Fuck you." She replied without hesitation.

Sunstreaker tilted his head to the side staring at the human femme with approval. "I like her!" He announced, ignoring the racket of Cybertronian curses that were issuing from Barricade's vocal processor.

"Not a surprise there 'Streaker." Mikaela said wearily as Ratchet continued to hover over her. As much as she loved the mech, right now she just wanted some breathing room.

"Ohhh…my kingdom for an Advil." Maggie moaned at the shouts that had roused her to consciousness.

"Mags!" Glen gasped rushing to her side. "Damn woman you had me worried. Don't ever do that to me again."

Smiling weakly at her robust friend she agreed. "I'll try not to." Her voice was hoarse from the earlier abuse she received at the airport and she rubbed her bruised neck absently.

Optimus watched her carefully. While everyone had been sorting themselves out he recalled his meeting with the All Spark. He was positive it had taken place. He could feel it. His spark sang with a new song, one of hope.

"That is an interesting mark on your neck. How did you come by it?" He inquired moving closer.

"Which one?" Maggie said jokingly as she indicated the numerous bruises.

"Ohhh…you mean her tat? Man she got that done years ago! She had a dream in class and when she woke up she had doodled that symbol in her notebook."

"You slept in class?" Sam remarked absently causing Epps and Mikaela to muffle their laughter.

The destroyer of Megatron kept his eye on the door awaiting his guardian who had recovered from the strange loss of consciousness the other Autobots had suffered from. The yellow scout should be arriving at any moment. Hound and Bluestreak were similarly recovered and on their way as well.

"She sure did! Now, she was underage when she got that tattoo. She was a sixteen year old freshman in college with a student ID and legs to die for…"

"Glen!" The twenty-three year old blond exclaimed as she struggled to sit up.

"Hush woman, I'm talking here. So anyway, we get to this tattoo parlor and Mags here only had her ID showing she was student at American University, so she hitched up her skirt a few inches and flashed her pearly whites at the dude…"

"GLEN!" The woman in question hoarsely shouted, flushing in mortification.

"Hang on Mags, this is the best part. So she smiles at the artist, flashes her ID under his nose as she hops on the counter and crosses her legs."

"Oh God!" Maggie muttered, giving up on shutting her friend up particularly given the avid audience he had. She instead focused her attention on the opposite side of the room where Ironhide was standing watch on a now silent Barricade. She noticed how the Decepticon's optics were fixed in a glare where Aislinn sat two beds over from her.

"You should've seen her man! She twirls a strand of blond hair around her finger, bats her green eyes at the dude and then shows him her sketch. He was a goner." Glen finished proudly amidst the chuckles of their friends.

"I never noticed you had a tattoo before." Mikaela remarked.

The flushed Australian nodded her head. "I normally have it covered by my hair."

"Is it true you just dreamt up the design?" Epps asked.

"Yeah, Glen had the right of it. I recall having some crazy dream and when I woke up all I could remember clearly was this strange glyph. I drew it out and liked the way it looked and the rest as they say is history."

Sunstreaker leaned closer for a better look at the tattoo they were talking about and his optics widened.

"Optimus! Did you know that's…"

_/Silence Sunstreaker! I DO know and it will be explained later./_

Luckily, the timely arrival of Bumblebee masked the question that seemingly died in the golden mech's throat. He watched as Sam greeted his guardian enthusiastically and as the scout lifted his charge, he greeted everyone, eagerly meeting his charge's family member.

He turned his optics back towards Maggie Madsen, who with the help of Glen had risen to her feet, and was determined to shower immediately. Barely listening as Optimus announced the meeting time in an hour he found himself after several long minutes leaving the med bay in search for his twin.

Something was most definitely odd here and he found himself impatient for the meeting that would hopefully answer any of his questions.

Questions such as, why would the human femme Maggie Madsen have the Cybertronian glyph of Justice on her neck?

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**A/N: ….And we'll end it there. I hope that this chapter did not bore you too badly. I know things (time wise) are moving a bit slow for now, but they will speed up. Just have to establish a bit more of the characters and the plot. **

**As this story goes, I have one arc planned (a rather LONG one at that, so I might shorten it up a bit into two stories within the same arc. A part one and a part two) and then there is another arc that will come AFTER this story is completed. At least that is the plan at this time.**

**A Boeing F-15 Strike Eagle is a fighter plane for the U.S. military. For any inquiring minds, Greenland IS considered part of the Arctic Circle. Also, any existence of an aerial graveyard in the Nevada desert is made up on my part.**

**Be kind and drop me a line to let me know what you think. And as always,**

**Thanks for reading everyone!**

**F.L.**


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